Great Examples In A Matter Of Great Moment

I have upon my mind the momentous subject of prayer, and I want to bring before you some great examples. The Lord Jesus Himself, the Son of God, the holy, harmless, undefiled One, was characterized by prayer. We are told of an occasion when He spent a whole night in prayer. He had before Him the choosing of His Apostles ; a selection from among His disciples which would have immense results, present and future; and with this before Him- "He went out into the mountain to pray, and He continued all night in prayer to God" (Luke 6. 12),

I commend it to you, that the Lord Jesus, up in that lonely and deserted mountain, spent a whole night in prayer. You and I think that if we spent a whole night in prayer we should not feel fit for the duties of the morrow; it may be so, but in deciding the point much has to be taken into account, yet it is certain that He felt the necessity of a whole night in prayer. Sometimes godless people of the world spend a night-a whole night, in the giddy dance, or such like, and often much time is spent in other pleasures. Why, then, do we not spend much time in the direction indicated in the beautiful lines ? -

Oh the pure delight of a single hour

That before Thy throne I spend,

When I bow in prayer, and with Thee, my God,

I commune as friend with friend!

Compared with the Lord Jesus, how long do we spend in prayer, private prayer? If I speak for myself I feel condemned, how little time do I give to private prayer! How much time do you give? Oh that we might bow more before God in prayer, private prayer. Let us think about it, let us meditate upon it; how much we miss, what precious blessings we lack, because we do not spend more time in prayer. Must we not confess that we are lacking in this respect?

There are striking examples in some of the Old Testament saints, Elijah for instance. He knew what solitude was, and communion with God, though he lived in an ungodly generation. It is recorded of him in James 5.-perhaps we may say, specially recorded, that Elijah prayed that it might not rain (it was for a Divine purpose, and he prayed according to the will of God), and it rained not. We gather from James' Epistle that it was his habit to pray, it was his usual custom; he prayed much and often, and when he prayed that it might not rain the heavens became as brass, and the earth became as iron. For three years and six months no rain fell from those heavens, no refreshing showers fell upon the parched land-there was a purpose in it, it was the way God took to bring Israel to realize their guilt, their departure from Him. It was from Him that their blessings came, and if they turned to idols the heavens should withhold their rain, and the earth should withhold its fruit. But when Israel began to realize that it was God whom they had rejected, when they cried, "Jehovah, He is God; Jehovah, He is God," then Elijah's mind was bent on praying that rain might be given; and you will remember how he went up to Mount Carmel, and how he prayed, and how the answer came. Yes, Elijah was a man of prayer, he prayed earnestly, yet we are told that Elijah was " a man of like passions (nature, R.V.M.) with us"; he was not a man of different nature, and thus we find encouragement- it is not too much for us to be men and women of prayer.

Then we come to those saints in the Acts; how they realized the need of prayer! What a beautiful picture, for example, is found in Acts 12.! When Peter was in prison-bound between two soldiers., prayer was made for him "without ceasing." It is a beautiful picture of earnest prayer; they were men and women of prayer, united prayer. And as many were together praying at the house of Mary (doubtless one of the meeting places of the Assembly in Jerusalem) there was a knock at the door, and Rhoda (who knew Peter's voice) said, Peter is at the door! They had been praying for it, and when the answer came they could scarcely believe it. But it was Peter himself, and so they found; and you and I may find prayer answered just as truly. If we pray according to God's will, and pray in faith, we shall know the sweet answers to prayer.

Then we come to Paul, who tells us in his Epistles how often he prayed for the saints in this assembly and in that one. We have some of his prayers recorded; they are pattern prayers indeed--here is one- "That ye may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, to walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1. 9, 10).

But in closing, let us return to the great and perfect example

--the Lord Jesus. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, we have that prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. The cross loomed before Him with all its horrors, with all Ls awful realities, and he had to pray. He left. those chosen three a little distance behind Him, saying, "watch and pray" (ah, did He not desire their fellowship, their sympathy! but alas, they quickly slept), and He went a little farther on and fell down on His knees and prayed. But Oh! the earnestness of that prayer! The drops fell from His forehead like blood! Oh that prayer that night in Gethsemane's garden! And there appeared an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. Perhaps you and I might know strengthening, assurance and help, if we only remembered and trod the path of prayer oftener. May we know it increasingly as we go onward.

An address given by Mr. Edwin Matthew, compiled from jottings supplied by Mr. W. J. Humphris.

unknown | Feb 1933
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